Chapter Twenty Seven

A/N: Thanks to imdefinitelynotaserialkiller for reviewing the last chapter.

It may only have been one night of arguments, but once she had reunited with Caitlyn, Lily felt a giant weight lift from her shoulders. Caitlyn was the one person at Hogwarts she could always count on to be there for her, no matter what, and knowing she had such support made every day a little easier to take. Of course, it did not help to alleviate the other weight that had landed on her shoulders, but Lily tried not to think about that. She tried, but it was all she could think about.

"Hi." A familiar voice brought her out of her reverie and Lily shuffled reluctantly down the bench she was sat on. She had come outside to seek comfort in the view, the same way her father had often done when he was still at Hogwarts. Given that, she was hardly surprised when her brother did the same.

"How are the N.E.W.T.s going?" Lily asked, trying to make polite conversation. Actually, she was trying to distract Albus from the inevitable. Seventh-years loved to talk about their struggles with workload and tests and exams. Maybe he would forget about anything else.

"Not too bad, I suppose." he responded evenly. Lily gritted her teeth in annoyance. Why did her brother have to know her every move before she made it? "How about you? How've you been doing?"

Lily did not answer for a moment, weighing up her options. Should she distract a little longer? Should she come clean? After only another few seconds of silence, Albus took the choice away from her.

"I've been talking to Scorpius." he began, trying to make his voice sound casual. Lily could hear the anger, bubbling beneath the surface. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, fighting the autumn chill and hiding her shaking hands. That was the only movement that threatened to give her away. "He said you turned up in the corridor a couple of days ago and started screaming at him."

"That's not exactly what happened." Lily argued, although it basically was.

"Well, you did yell at him, people heard you." Albus stated, his tone irritatingly factual. Lily did not deny it. "So you turned up before breakfast, cornered him while he was on his way to get food and shrieked like a banshee? What did he do?"

"It doesn't matter." she sighed, desperate to escape the situation. Her brother raised his eyebrow. "Al, I don't want to talk about it."

"So there is something then." Lily cried out in frustration. When they were children, and both had caught the practice snitch their father bought at the same time, Albus had clung on for dear life until she had finally given in, unwilling to let her get away with anything just because she was younger. She had hoped the boy might have changed since then, but apparently not.

"I had an argument with Caitlyn, I was just frustrated about it." The redhead pushed a few stray tendrils of hair out of her face, tucking them behind her ear. The blistering wind would pull them loose again in a few moments, but it was something to think about that was not Scorpius Malfoy.

"He told me about that." Albus confirmed. "Said you accused him of ruining your friendship with her."

"He didn't do anything." Lily allowed, her moral compass kicking in. She may still be infinitely frustrated with Scorpius, but she would not let him take the blame for something that was not his fault. "We were arguing about him. Caitlyn thought I was thinking about him too much, ignoring her. She said I was in love with him."

Albus' expression, even neutral as it was, faltered. Lily was watching closely enough to see it. She shrugged her shoulders in question, knowing her brother would understand the gesture.

"And are you?" The statement was more abrupt than Lily was expecting, although in all honesty she knew she would not be able to escape it for long. It was ironic really; she had been expecting this question for so long, and yet she still had no idea how to answer it.

It was a couple of silent, awkward minutes, before the girl finally gave her answer. She could not lie to her brother, even if she had wanted to. He would see right through her. "I don't know."

Albus nodded, not pressing any further. It was true, he could tell Lily's lies in a heartbeat, and he could tell that the conflict within her was not just a cover-up. But there was more to the situation, something that could change her whole outlook on the situation. "He feels the same way about you."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "What did you just say?"

"He told me during the holidays." Albus explained, running his hand through his messy black hair. "He didn't feel right keeping it a secret from me. He said he isn't sure, mainly because he thought you didn't feel the same. But there's something there. He knows there's a little glimmer of something."

"And what if a little glimmer isn't enough?" Lily asked, looking up at her older brother, the same way she had looked at him when she was a child and grazed her knee falling off her practice broom. "Al, what if I tell him how I feel and then it doesn't work out?"

"Then you get your heart broken." Albus stated. Lily almost managed a chuckle. Her brother had never been one to mince words, preferring to speak in as few words as possible, whether it was about a heartache or a potions essay. "You punch a pillow, you send me to hex him if you want to."

"He's your best friend." Lily reminded him, her words punctuated with a laugh.

"You're my sister." he stated in return, his voice the height of seriousness. "I love you, Lil."

"I love you too, Al." the girl smiled, tears of joy coming to her eyes. She pulled the boy close to her, wrapping her arms around him like they were little more than the children they had once been. She pulled away, wiping the tears from her cheeks, then took a deep breath. "And do you know what? I think I might love him too."

A/N: The moment is coming! Please review!